Digest

A Fort Lauderdale man pleaded guilty Friday in a telemarketing scheme that bilked victims out of more than $150,000, the Florida Attorney General's Office announced.

Daniel Fasciana peddled fake foreign currency options from April 2001 to June 2002 to 15 people across the nation, including an elderly Kissimmee woman suffering from Alzheimer's disease, said spokeswoman JoAnn Carrin.

Fasciana pleaded guilty to charges of criminal racketeering, conspiracy and grand theft, and will be on probation for 10 years. He will be forced to repay $150,000 to his victims and testify against others who were involved, Carrin said.

Federal officials have arrested five other people outside of Florida and are searching for four more. Authorities say $2 million was stolen from 200 victims.

Deerfield Beach

Driver sought after boy, 14, struck riding on bike

A driver struck a 14-year-old boy on a bike in Deerfield Beach Friday afternoon, fled the area and sent another car crashing into a garage, a Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman said.

The driver was in a black Nissan Maxima near Northwest Second Avenue and Second Street when the vehicle hit the boy about 4:45 p.m., said spokesman Hugh Graf. The car took off and later sideswiped or cut-off another car near Southeast Ninth Avenue and Hillsboro Boulevard, sending it into a building, Graf said.

The teen was taken to North Broward Medical Center. No one else was hurt.

Graf said deputies are looking for the driver of the Maxima, described as wearing no shirt at the time of the crash, and having short hair and several tattoos.

Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

Tamarac

Woman clings to hood after thief takes purse

A Tamarac woman trying to get her purse back from a thief clung to the hood of a car as it hit speeds of up to 60 mph, a Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman said.

Nancy Palese-Stoyka and Frank Flagiello, 45, had just had an argument at Palese-Stoyka's home when Flagiello grabbed her purse and got in his car, said spokesman Hugh Graf. Palese-Stoyka leapt on the car's hood to stop Flagiello from taking off, he said.

Instead, Graf said, Flagiello drove down the road with Palese-Stoyka clinging to the hood.

Several blocks later, a detective in an unmarked car saw Palese-Stoyka on the hood and eventually stopped Flagiello with the help of several marked units, Graf said. Palese-Stoyka was not injured.

Deputies arrested Flagiello on a felony theft charge.

South Florida

Police identify woman killed by freight train

Boca Raton Police on Friday identified a woman killed by a freight train earlier this week.

Susan Mary Flood, 43, of Boca Raton, was standing on the railroad tracks near the 200 block of Northwest First Avenue late Tuesday night when the southbound train struck her, police said.

Flood died at the scene, police said.

Trooper, 2 men injured in three-car accident

Two men were seriously injured and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper suffered minor injuries Friday morning in a three-car wreck on Interstate-95, troopers said.

Luis Moore Tirado Jr., 18, of West Palm Beach, and Hugo Avila, 18, of Lake Worth, were taken to Delray Medical Center, where Tirado was listed in serious condition and Avila was listed in critical condition. Trooper Angela Freeman was treated at Bethesda Hospital and released.

The crash happened around 11:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-95, just north of the Atlantic Avenue on-ramp, Lt. Tim Frith said.